Kurnell is the Anglicised version of Cunnel, the land of the Gweagal people. It is the place where Lieutenant James Cook and his crew landed on 29 April 1770 whilst navigating his way up the East Coast of Australia on Endeavour.
Cook and his men stayed at Kurnell for a period of eight days. During their time there they collected botanical specimens and mapped the area. When Cook reported back to England he said that the land was suitable for agriculture and was lightly wooded.
Captain Arthur Phillip arrived at Kurnell on 18 January 1788, before the First Fleet arrived, following Cook’s advice. They began to clear land and dig wells but a week later, Phillip decided to abandon the site and moved north to Sydney Cove at Port Jackson.
The first land grant of 700 acres (283 ha) was made in 1815, to Captain James Birnie, who established Alpha Farm. In 1821 John Connell Junior was also granted land here and used it for timber getting. His father purchased Alpha Farm from Birnie and by 1842 the Connell family’s estate was over one thousand acres (4 km2) in size. An alternate origin of the name derives froms an Aboriginal corruption of the surname of John Connell.
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